Practical Empathy: For Collaboration and Creativity in Your Work

Young's book is the operational companion to everything else in this section — a careful treatment of empathy as a research methodology rather than an emotion. The central move is a specific kind of listening: listening for the mental model rather than for the task, for what the person is trying to do rather than what they are saying. The book is short, well-organised, and teaches techniques that generalise well beyond user research into any conversation where understanding matters. For product direction it is the single most practical introduction to the skill. Pair it with Hansen for the interview specifics.